California — 48th District

Brandon Riker, 39, a Democrat and small business owner, is running for Congress representing inland North County cities, the San Diego County backcountry and parts of Riverside County in California’s 48th Congressional District.

Chavez is originally from the Bay Area and now lives in Palm Springs.

The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Riker and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.

Riker said he did not use any AI tools in responding to the Union-Tribune’s questions.

1) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate?

I’m a fourth-generation Californian raised with a deep belief in community and giving back. In middle school I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and a teacher who noticed my struggles helped me access the resources I needed to succeed. That experience taught me that when institutions actually work for people, lives change. I graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in economics and earned a master’s from the London School of Economics. I organized for Barack Obama in 2008 because I believed good policy could change lives. I still do.

It’s time we send a trained economist to Congress who understands why everything costs so much and knows how to fix it. I’ve made payroll and navigated rising costs just like families across San Diego and Riverside County. I have never taken corporate PAC money and never will. My economic plan makes the first $50,000 of income tax-free, raises wages, expands Medicare access and protects Social Security for every generation. I’ll be the kind of congressman who is accessible, accountable and fighting so you can afford to live and thrive in California.

2) What are the top 3 issues facing this district?

Working families across California are being squeezed by rising costs, a broken economy and a Trump administration determined to strip away our rights. I’m running because enough is enough.

I will put over $3,000 back in the pockets of working families by eliminating the 6.2% Social Security FICA tax on the first $50,000 of income and raise wages so no one has to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table.

My Second New Deal builds career pathways through apprenticeships and trade schools, pairs student debt relief with good-paying jobs and secures Social Security and Medicare for every generation.

California has always been a beacon for democracy, reproductive freedom and equal rights. I will fight to keep it that way by passing the Equality Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act and codifying Roe v. Wade into law.

3) What are the first 3 things you would do in your first/next term in Congress?

As your representative, I’m going to put working people first, not corporations. I’m going to introduce the Keep What You Earn Act, a key part of my Second New Deal proposal, making the first $50,000 you earn tax-free. That is an effective 6% raise showing up in every single paycheck, not just at tax time, so families can pay their bills, save for the future and breathe a little easier.

I’m also going to co-sponsor the Robin Hood Act, making Wall Street speculators pay a small transaction tax to fund what our communities actually need, from healthcare to housing to education.

Finally, I’m going to push hard for the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, because democracy only works when every eligible voter can participate freely and fairly, without barriers or obstruction.

4) If your party wins control of Congress, what should be its first priority? If your party loses control of Congress, what should be its first priority?

If Democrats win control of Congress, our first priority needs to focus on the economy. We lost in 2024 on the economy, and we can’t make that mistake again. If we regain the majority, we have to deliver real economic relief for working families, because winning on the economy is what protects everything else we care about, including healthcare, voting rights and civil liberties.

If Democrats lose control, we need to block harmful cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and ensure we fight back against Trump’s administration and agenda.

5) President Trump has made cracking down on immigration a cornerstone of his administration, ordering widespread arrests and detentions of immigrants nationwide and directing military resources to a new military zone along the U.S.-Mexico border. What impact have these had on this district? What are your goals on immigrants, immigration and the border, and how would you pursue them if elected? What is your message to constituents who are immigrants?

ICE is operating as an unchecked force across San Diego and Riverside County, detaining people without warrants, defying federal court orders and terrorizing communities that have done nothing wrong. This is unconstitutional, and Congress must act.

We need to ban deportation operations that violate due process, establish an independent oversight body to investigate ICE misconduct and push to hold agents criminally accountable for civil rights violations. I will restore judicial oversight over immigration detention and fight to close private detention facilities profiting off human suffering. I will also fight to pass comprehensive reform with real pathways to citizenship so families can stop living in fear.

Our immigration system has been broken for decades, and the federal government must prioritize reform grounded in law, fairness and human dignity.

6) It’s been nearly two months since the United States began a war with Iran. Do you believe Americans are better or worse off for it? What should Congress’s role be? Would you vote to let the president continue the war beyond the 60 days after which congressional authorization is required? (150 words max)

Americans are worse off. Prices were already high, and this war has made things worse, from gas to groceries. Working families are feeling it in their wallets every single day. What concerns me just as much is that this war began without congressional approval, which is a direct violation of the War Powers Act and the Constitution.

Congress is a co-equal branch of government, and the power to authorize war belongs to us. I believe we need a full deliberation about why we are in this conflict, what the mission actually is, and what it is going to cost the American people, both in lives and in dollars.

As for voting to extend the war beyond 60 days without proper congressional authorization, I would vote no. Any continuation of military action must come with a clear mission, defined objectives, an exit strategy and a full audit of the costs.

7) Recent jumps in the cost of fuel, food and other goods — combined with federal cuts to safety-net programs, new limits on certain federal loans and more — are squeezing residents already struggling with San Diego County’s high costs of living. What relief would you seek to offer, and how? (150 words max)

Families across CA-48, from the coast to our inland communities, are struggling with costs that were already too high before recent jumps. My Second New Deal addresses this head on. My Keep What You Earn Act puts real money back in working families’ pockets by making the first $50,000 tax-free. That means more money for rent, groceries and gas without waiting on a tax refund.

I’m also going to fight to protect food assistance, housing programs and healthcare access right here in San Diego County, and I will not vote for a single budget that cuts Social Security or Medicare benefits our residents have earned.

8) Like much of California, this district has been affected by the effects of climate change. How should Congress mitigate those impacts, and what would you do to pursue such efforts? (100 words max)

As a member of Congress, I’m going to fight to restore and expand funding for federal environmental justice programs at the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, and push to codify key initiatives like EJScreen so they cannot be rolled back by executive action alone. I’m supportive of legislation requiring cumulative impact assessments for major infrastructure projects so agencies must consider the full environmental burden on communities.

I’m going to use Congress’s oversight powers to hold polluters accountable and ensure clean air and water protections are enforced equally everywhere.

9) Polling underscores that one chief concern of California voters in the 2026 midterm elections is the issue of threats to democracy. What do you believe are the greatest threats to American democracy? How would you, and how should Congress, protect against these? (100 words max)

I have been an organizer my whole life and have fought for voting rights across this country, so I understand firsthand what is at stake right now. The greatest threats to American democracy are the concentration of power in the executive branch, the erosion of voting rights and the influence of dark money in our elections. I’m going to push hard for the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act to restore ballot access protections. I’m going to fight to strengthen congressional oversight and reassert Congress as a co-equal branch of government. I’m going to support campaign finance reform that gets dark money out of our politics.

Democracy only works when the power is in the hands of the people and every eligible voter can participate freely and fairly.

10) Do you support a ban or restriction on congressional lawmakers and their families buying or selling individual stocks? Why or why not? And what would you propose to ensure lawmakers aren’t using their positions to engage in insider trading? (100 words max)

Yes, I support a full ban. As an Unrig Washington candidate through End Citizens United, fixing this kind of institutional corruption is central to my campaign. Members of Congress have access to information the public does not, and trading on that access is a betrayal of the public trust regardless of whether it technically crosses a legal line. I’m going to support legislation requiring blind trusts, banning individual stock trades for members and their families and creating an independent oversight body with the authority to investigate and penalize violations.

11) By design Congress is supposed to serve as a check on the executive branch through budgetary, legislative and oversight powers. Do you believe that Congress has fulfilled that obligation in recent years? Why or why not? Should Congress do more to hold the president accountable? Explain. (150 words max)

Congress has not fulfilled that obligation, and the consequences are playing out in real time. We have watched executive power expand dramatically, with budgets ignored, laws selectively enforced and military action taken without congressional authorization. Congress has too often chosen party loyalty over constitutional responsibility, and voters are paying the price. When Congress fails to exercise its budgetary, legislative and oversight powers, it does not just weaken itself, it weakens the entire system of accountability that democracy depends on.

I am running for Congress to be an independent voice that takes oversight seriously regardless of who is in the White House. As a member of Congress, I would work alongside my colleagues to use subpoena power, the appropriations process and every legislative tool available to hold the executive branch accountable.

12) A recent San Diego Union-Tribune poll found voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Congress is doing, by higher margins than they disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Why do you think this is? How can Congress win back voters’ hope and trust, and what would you personally do to achieve this? (150 words max)

People are frustrated, and they are right to be. For too long Congress has been reactive rather than proactive, defined by being the party of anti-Trump rather than fighting for what working people actually need. Working families in CA-48 do not need more political theater; they need a representative laser-focused on the economy, on lowering costs and on making sure the government is actually working for them. I’m going to go to Washington with a clear and affirmative economic agenda, continue to hold regular town halls across the district the same way I am doing now and measure my success not by cable news appearances but by what I actually deliver for the people who sent me there.